Speaking Truth to Power - Anita Hill [84]
Ellen Wells had been trying to contact me in Oklahoma, but was not able to reach me until I arrived in Washington. She, too, remembered my complaining about Thomas’ behavior while I worked for him. And she was one witness who knew both me and Clarence Thomas. I was glad to see Ellen, not only because she could corroborate my testimony but also because she was a link to my former work that had survived the politics of the Thomas nomination.
Don Green appeared in the conference room from time to time. I had not seen him for ten years. He offered the room as a matter of professional courtesy as part of his responsibility to the confirmation process. I would remind commentators who criticized the offer as a show of partisan politics that even the criminally accused are entitled to adequate representation. For me personally, Green’s offer was more than a courtesy. It was an offer of kindness, like so many during this time, that I will never forget and can never repay. At one point that Thursday, Green came in to advise me that the Senate had contacted him to ask why I had been “fired” from Wald. And though he told them that I had not been fired, they persisted with the accusation. Right after the hearing, John Burke, a former Wald partner, would swear that he had advised me to leave the firm—not the same as being fired, but enough to tarnish my professional reputation—though this wasn’t true either.
During the day the press discovered our location. Then, as they had at my home in Norman, they staked out the building, as security would not allow them to enter. By that time two women had volunteered to handle press requests. Louise Hilsen and Wendy Sherman were veterans of Washington politics and press relations, Hilsen working for DeVillier Communications, Sherman formerly on Senator Barbara Mikulski’s staff.
Though there was not complete disorder among my team, there was no clear order of command. Everyone did whatever was necessary to prepare me and the other witnesses for the following days and to provide the written material necessary for the hearing. Some talked to the witnesses, Hoerchner and Wells. Some focused on communicating with the Senate to get information about the process; others of us did things like copying and proofreading documents.
The day ended about 8:30, when I left to return to my hotel, escorted by Sonia and Anne Majorca, who had been on the Wald staff and was now working at Pepper, Hamilton. But the drama of the day continued when at least two vehicles followed as we drove away from the office building. Sonia evaded a van, but a motorcycle was harder to lose. She decided to pull into a police station on Capitol Hill, and as she did so the motorcycle driver sped away. But her day did not end when she left me. She still had to supervise the physical preparation of my statement, which Leslie McFarland, Ray’s wife, would type.
By Thursday night a group of amateurs with very limited resources and not much time had accomplished a massive amount of work. The job they did would have been outstanding under any circumstances; under these circumstances it was nothing short of phenomenal. We were David against the Goliath of the White House, certain Republican senators, and, as I would later learn, the FBI. Yet when I went to bed that evening, I was content that we had acted with principle. And no matter the outcome of the hearing, my conscience was clear.
PART TWO
CHAPTER ELEVEN
On Friday, October 11, 1991, following three days of utter turmoil, I woke quite early. Kim Taylor, having flown in from California, had spent the night in the adjacent room. With little to do and uncertain about when I would appear for my testimony, I ironed her suit and helped her get ready for an appearance she made on my behalf on CBS Morning News. Hours later, after Kim left and I had dressed